rail
英 [reɪl]
美 [reɪl]
- n. 铁轨;扶手;横杆;围栏
- vi. 抱怨;责骂
- vt. 铺铁轨;以横木围栏
rail 栏杆,横竿,铁轨来自古法语 reille,柱子,竿,杆,来自拉丁语 regula,直杆,小杆,-ula,小词后缀,来自 regere, 拉直,伸直,词源同 regulate,right.引申词义铁轨。拼写比较 rule,regulate.
- rail
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rail: English has three words rail. The oldest, ‘rod, bar’ [13], comes via Old French reille ‘iron bar’ from Latin rēgula ‘straight stick, rod’, source of English regular and rule. The bird-name rail [15] goes back via Old Northern French raille to Vulgar Latin *rascula, which probably originated in imitation of the bird’s hoarse cry.
And rail ‘complain, be abusive’ [15] comes via Old French railler ‘mock’ and Provençal ralhar ‘scoff’ from Vulgar Latin *ragulāre ‘bray’, an alteration of ragere ‘neigh, roar’. This in turn was a blend of Latin rugīre ‘bellow’ and Vulgar Latin *bragere ‘bray’ (source of English bray [13]). Raillery [17] and rally ‘tease’ [17] come from the same source.
=> regular, rule; bray, rally
- rail (n.1)
- "horizontal bar passing from one post or support to another," c. 1300, from Old French reille "bolt, bar," from Vulgar Latin *regla, from Latin regula "straight stick," diminutive form related to regere "to straighten, guide" (see regal). Used figuratively for thinness from 1872. To be off the rails in a figurative sense is from 1848, an image from the railroads. In U.S. use, "A piece of timber, cleft, hewed, or sawed, inserted in upright posts for fencing" [Webster, 1830].
- rail (n.2)
- "small wading bird," mid-15c., from Old French raale (13c.), related to râler "to rattle," of unknown origin, perhaps imitative of its cry.
- rail (v.1)
- "complain," mid-15c., from Middle French railler "to tease or joke" (15c.), perhaps from Old Provençal ralhar "scoff, to chat, to joke," from Vulgar Latin *ragulare "to bray" (source also of Italian ragghiare "to bray"), from Late Latin ragere "to roar," probably of imitative origin. See rally (v.2). Related: Railed; railing.
- rail (v.2)
- "fence in with rails," late 14c., from rail (n.1). Related: Railed; railing.
- 1. The government is spending billions of dollars on new urban rail projects.
- 政府正把数十亿元花在新城市铁路项目上。
- 2. The rail strike is causing major disruptions at the country's ports.
- 铁路罢工使该国港口陷入了一片混乱。
- 3. The sudden onset of winter caused havoc with rail and air transport.
- 冬天的突然降临让铁路和航空运输系统陷入混乱。
- 4. The president traveled by rail to his home town.
- 总统坐火车回到了他的家乡。
- 5. The gloom deepened after a thumping £45m loss at British Rail.
- 英国铁路公司遭受了4,500万英镑的巨额损失后境况更加惨淡。